


late night chats

by LadyDanger420



Category: Half-Life, Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Gen, I think Gordon should have a friend with similar life experiences, Selectively Mute Gordon Freeman, Sign Language, Talking, half life 2 - Freeform, this is the same Gip from Aftermath and In Between but she's 20 years older, who he can hang out with when he's got Trauma Brain Nights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25377247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyDanger420/pseuds/LadyDanger420
Summary: Two unwilling soldiers talk about something other than war
Relationships: Gordon Freeman & Original Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	late night chats

**Author's Note:**

> I write Gordon as selectively mute. At this point in Gip's life she's turned into a full kaiju but she's very small, like Toothless size. Also she can no longer talk but it's fine who needs words anyway.
> 
> They're just vibing my dudes. Cringe culture is dead write about your current fave and your almost-OC being friends.

Gordon might've been out of the game for a while— _twenty years, really?_ —, but he was pretty sure storage closets didn't snore. Or _whatever_ that sound was—a weird combination of a growl, purr, and the aforementioned snoring. 

One hand grabbed the door handle, silently easing it open to peek inside.

The room had a handful of pictures taped to the bare cement walls, mostly featuring a girl with reddish blonde hair streaked with steel blue. One in particular drew his attention—the girl, maybe around twelve or thirteen, with two adults. A blonde man who was smiling and ruffling her hair, and a Japanese woman with electric blue-tipped hair framing her face in a short bob. The girl's family, presumably.

Another picture, the girl looking far older—maybe mid-twenties, dressed in a grey jumpsuit and holding a large wrench over her shoulder. She was grinning widely at the camera, revealing teeth that didn't look right in a human face.

A snuffling sound broke his attention from the photographs, and he looked towards the source. One corner of the small storage area had a nest made of tattered blankets, currently inhabited by a large lizard-like creature.

_Oh._

Gordon felt guilty all of a sudden—this was Gip's room, and here he was snooping around into her private life while she slept. He moved to leave, reaching for the door-

_clic_

-which he managed to push closed on accident, the hasp making a surprisingly sharp sound as it slid home.

And then he was on his back, a startled wheeze escaping him along with the air in his lungs. His glasses clattered to the floor, knocked off by the sudden movement.

Gip had him pinned with one large forehand on his chest, claws digging into the cement around him as she snarled, tails lashing. He raised a hand— _to do what? She was a sixteen-foot-long one-ton alien lizard, and he didn't have a weapon_ —, but by then she was already off, a soft hum rumbling from her chest.

 **sorry**. She signed, tucking her forelimbs underneath herself to sign with her secondary arms. He only discerned what she was saying because of her size, but reached towards where he thought his glasses had fallen- oh, there.

 **my fault. shouldn't have been in here.** He replied, scratching at the back of his neck awkwardly when he finished.

 **fair.** A mildly amused snort escaped her as she bared her teeth in what he'd come to recognize as a teasing grin. He couldn't quite avoid the brief moment of apprehension at the sight, though. **why were you here?**

**heard something. came to investigate.**

Gip hummed, squinting at him doubtfully. The effect was greatly intensified by the six eyes.

He huffed a sigh. Lying to a telepath never worked. 

**couldn't sleep. needed to take a walk.** By _take a walk_ he meant check for threats—Black Mesa was weeks— _twenty years_ —behind him, but he couldn't shake the habit.

 **can stay here and chat.** She offered, shifting to make room in her nest.

 **it's fine. I shouldn't keep you up too.** He moved to stand, but she laid a forehand on his leg to keep him from going.

 **I shouldn't let the One Free Man wander around alone at night either.** And _that_ was definitely a grin. **don't need much sleep. stay.**

And, well, he was pretty sure having Gip trail along on his compulsive perimeter check would be more disruptive to the other rebels trying to sleep in this wing of the base. He'd also seen her beat off a good dozen or so CPs on her own—there probably wasn't anywhere safer in the base. He sighed again, pushing her forehand off his lap and moving to lean up against her side.

**fair enough. you convinced me.**

She hummed quietly, the sound resonating through his bones from where he leaned his back against her. It was a surprisingly relaxing feeling.

 **that picture. friends?** He asked, pointing towards the first picture that had caught his eye.

 **family.** She corrected, looking at the photograph with what he could only assume was a wistful expression. **long time ago. thirty years give or take.**

 **sorry.** Gordon didn't mean to bring up painful memories, he'd just been curious. Suppose that made him the cat, then.

 **it's fine. didn't know.** She answered reservedly.

**what were their names?**

**Raleigh**. She spelled out, then showed him her shorthand—the letter R, and the sign for dog. One of her smaller tails tapped the blonde man's face. **saved the world once. my pilot.** **Mako**. The Japanese woman, an M followed by the sign for sword. **saved me. fixed hunters.** She paused for a moment, her hands shaking slightly. **in a coma last I saw her. helicopter crash.**

He wasn't really sure how you were supposed to respond to something like that. **I'm-**

 _'If you say sorry for something that isn't your fault again, I'm gonna snatch those glasses off your face and whack you in the head with them.'_ Her voice intruded into his thoughts, stopping him in his tracks.

Gip was a telepathic creature, to an extent—he didn't know the specifics, but he's overheard chatter of something called a Hive, which he assumes is the primary social structure for whatever species she is. He's neither a xenobiologist nor a behaviorist, so he's fine to leave it at that. She avoids using it with him for the most part—he's had too many things try to mess with his head already, and they can get by perfectly well with sign.

 **alright then.** A slight grin settles on his face at the admonishment, and he can't help a cheeky retort. **I won't say it. can't stop me from thinking it.**

She squints at him in an annoyed manner before lifting a forehand and pushing his face away from hers.

 **I changed my mind. go back to wandering the halls like a ghost. Barney can handle your late night walks from now on.** She huffs, but she can't hide the amused warble.

He distantly notes that she uses his sign for Barney's name, and wonders who she learned it from.

**Author's Note:**

> An interaction that did not make it into this:
> 
> Gip: oh yeah you guys don't have Carmelldansen  
> Gordon: what's that?  
> Gip: hang on  
> Gip: *beams it directly into Gordon's brain*
> 
> Also Gordon's sign for Barney is "gay barn". Gip only uses it around certain people, otherwise she uses "barn dinosaur"


End file.
